At the start of the season, one goal was agreed upon. Division One next season.
There was to be a fairytale start for The West Men as they swept aside RGU, Edinburgh and GCU during a nice home stretch. Dominant performances from Bunyan, Lockhart and Manferdelli saw The West climb to the top of the table early on, with the advantage over early contenders Edinburgh.
An undefeated record at Christmas saw The West through 2 rounds of the Cup and in pole position in BUCS 2A. A long winter break gave the guys some much needed rest but they knew the task was not over. Sustained injuries over Christmas meant The West traveled North-East to RGU for the first game back with a depleted squad and saw Zihao Wu and Sandeep Dwarakanath make their debuts in a toughly contested match. Down 14 at the half, with all odds in the game against them, The West scraped the game back and took it to not one, but two overtimes, but fell just short in the final period, dropping their first game of the season, 98-89.
A team bonding hard fought 2 point win over a much improved GCU side sparked The West back into form, and saw them overcome Edinburgh 3’s to reach the Semi-Finals of the Cup. With league rivals Edinburgh 2’s dropping another league game (7-2), it was all eyes on their fixture vs GCU, where a loss there and a win for The West at home would see them seal the title.
GCU opened up the second half with a 24 point lead, but Edinburgh knew what was on the line. After clawing it back to a 1 point game, GCU held on for a 94-91 win which left UWS with their fate in their hands. Back to the Lagoon leisure centre, everyone knew what was at stake and pulled out a 80-73 win over St Andrews and sealed their Division One status next season.
The West now set their eyes on their Cup Semi-Final v Heriot-Watt on the 26th March, 2pm Lagoon.
#LetsGoWest
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